Bryce Harper says he was 'ready to go back' to Nationals; reportedly got offer that would've paid him in 2072

Harper plays his first game back as a visitor at Nationals Park on Tuesday

The start of the Bryce Harper era couldn't be going better for the Philadelphia Phillies. They swept the Braves over the weekend thanks in part to two home runs from Harper. The Phillies are 3-0 for the first time since their 102-win season in 2011 and No. 1 in our latest Power Rankings.

Tuesday night Harper will return to Washington D.C. as an opponent for the first time in his career. Fans in the Philadelphia market can stream the game via fuboTV (Try for free). Will the Nationals faithful shower him with boos or cheers? Likely a mix of both, initially. Eventually it'll be straight boos, especially if he continues hitting a home run every other game or so.

According to Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post, there was a point over the winter in which Harper expected to remain with the Nationals. He and his wife, Kayla, visited team owner Ted Lerner in Florida right before Christmas and Harper left the meeting fired up. From Svrluga:

"I'm sitting there like, 'I'm gonna be a National. I'm gonna be a National,'" he said. "'They're going to make me an offer this week. We're going to build off of that, and it's gonna happen.' I told Kayla, 'Be ready to go back.' I flat-out told her. I was psyched. I was like, 'Be ready to go back, because if we can, we're going back.' I was pumped."  

The Nationals made Harper a 10-year offer worth $300 million at the end of last season. The offer was heavy on deferrals. Another offer followed the meeting in Florida, though, according to Svrluga, it was a 12-year deal worth $250 million. Less money, more years, and that offer included deferrals through 2072. 2072!

As you might imagine, the second offer discouraged Harper. From Svrulga:

"I got that offer, and I kind of was like, 'Dang,'" he said. "But for me, it was like, 'OK, I understand they're building a team there. I understand they're going to be really, really good. I understand they have Juan Soto. I understand they have [Victor] Robles.' So my thing was . . . I don't want to take something that's way, far less than I'd get elsewhere, and less than the first offer, with high deferrals. I don't want to be a guy that gets paid till I'm 65. That doesn't do it for me. . . .

"So after I got that offer, it hit me like, 'Damn. I could be going somewhere else.' So I turned it. I was like, 'I really need to start focusing on my meetings.'"

It wasn't until March 1 that Harper signed his then-record 13-year, $330 million contract with the NL East rival Phillies. There's certainly something to be said for spending your entire career with one team. Few players get that opportunity. Taking one fewer year and $80 million less in guaranteed money though? Not many players would take the lesser offer.